Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India] April 23 (ANI): Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri has said that there is a possibility that middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer earns a recall to the Indian Test side, but there will be “competition” for him.
Iyer, along with wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, made a comeback to the list of contracted players announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently. The Annual Player Contracts for Team India (Senior Men) are for the 2024-25 season, ranging from October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.
This comeback has been possible due to a superb run of form, which saw him win the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) as captain of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai, and also excel in red-ball domestic cricket with Ranji Trophy and Irani Cup title wins. On the back of his fine domestic performances, Iyer earned a comeback to the Indian ODI side for the home series against England and won the ICC Champions Trophy with Men in Blue, emerging as the team’s top run-getter, with 243 runs in five matches that included two fifties. In eight ODIs this year, he has made 424 runs at an average of 53.00, with four fifties.
The batter is off to a fine start as the Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper, winning five out of eight matches so far and having made 263 runs in eight matches with three fifties.
Speaking in the latest episode of ICC Review, Shastri said about Iyer’s Test cricket prospects, “Shreyas Iyer in particular, the way he has played for India over the last 18 months and he has become an absolute certainty in the white-ball format of the game, especially the one-day format.”
“He can (earn a recall for Test cricket), but it is again going to be a competition. White-ball, certain (selection). Test cricket, (we) have got to see who the other players are around,” he concluded.
India’s next major challenge is the red-ball tour of England, where they are set to face the hosts in a five-match Test series that will be their first hitout for the new ICC World Test Championship cycle.
Iyer last featured in a Test for India against England in February last year. He made just 187 runs in his last seven Tests in 12 innings without a half-century and best score of 35. After making his Test debut in 2021 at home against New Zealand, Iyer went on to play 14 Tests, scoring 811 runs at an average of 36.86, with a century and five fifties. His best score is 105.
However, in 14 first-class games last year, Iyer scored 932 runs in 23 innings, averaging 42.36, with two centuries and four fifties. His best score was 233. In Ranji Trophy 2024-25, Iyer scored 480 runs in five matches and seven innings at an average of 68.57, with two centuries and a fifty. His best score was 233.
Iyer has a fine first-class record, playing for Mumbai in domestic cricket. In 81 matches, he has made 6,363 runs at an average of 48.57, with 15 centuries and 33 fifties in 137 innings and best score of 233. (ANI)